St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
David McClister/Courtesy of the artist
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David McClister/Courtesy of the artist

St. Paul and the Broken Bones.

David McClister/Courtesy of the artist

The Birmingham, Ala., soul band St. Paul and the Broken Bones is led by Paul Janeway, who grew up singing gospel, and was even groomed to be a preacher. But the soul music he loved kept calling. For years, it didn't entirely click, until he got in the studio with bassist Jesse Phillips.

Close your eyes and you hear a deep soul singer, open them — and watch World Cafe's in-studio video — and you'll see that Janeway kind of resembles a student accountant. The band's new debut album is titled Half the City.